


Un/Welcome

by supercantaloupe



Series: d20 alphabet 2021 [6]
Category: Dimension 20 (Web Series), Fantasy High
Genre: Campaign 01 Season 02: Fantasy High Sophomore Year (Dimension 20), Fluff, Gen, Post-Canon, i dont know how to tag these things, i guess, there's a cat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 14:20:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29967657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supercantaloupe/pseuds/supercantaloupe
Summary: The girls discuss what to do about the newest member of Mordred Manor.
Series: d20 alphabet 2021 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2178252
Kudos: 17
Collections: Dimension 20 Alphabet 2021





	Un/Welcome

**Author's Note:**

> prompt, day 10: kitten

“No. Absolutely not.”

“Sol’s son, are you always going to be this much of a hardass about everything?”

_“Some_ things, yes.” Aelwyn folds her arms and looks stern.

“You’re really going to say no to _this?”_ Kristen coos, holding up the kitten to be eye level. Aelwyn makes a face and leans back.

“Yes.” 

“Aw, come on,” Kristen whines, pouting. “Even _you_ have to admit she’s cute. Right, Fig?”

“It’s pretty damn cute,” Fig shrugs and smiles. “What do you have against it?”

“You all know _damn_ well what I have against it,” Aelwyn says acidly, first scowling at Fig and then back at Kristen and the little cat in her hands. “I don’t know why _you_ don’t feel the same,” Aelwyn adds suspiciously. 

“I dunno,” Kristen shrugs and sets the kitten down on the table. She can just about cradle the little thing in one hand, it’s so small and delicate. “Not nearly as scary as the last one.”

“Ugh. This is--” Aelwyn shakes her head again and huffs. From the table, the kitten looks up at her with its big green eyes, at once curious and indifferent (yet distinctly absent of malice). Its fur was so dark as to transcend black into shades of purple and blue, like the sky over the Celestine Sea at midnight, and shimmers as though flecked with just as many stars. Aelwyn looks away, in time to catch sight of her sister passing in the hall. “Adaine, you _must_ tell them how _ridiculous_ this all is.”

“What are you arguing about now?” Adaine asks, entering the room and looking among her sisters both biological and honorary. 

“Kristen wants to keep the cat, Aelwyn doesn’t,” Fig explains, gesturing to the kitten on the table before them. “I’m team ‘keep it.’ I think it’s cool.”

“Where did you even _get_ a cat?” Adaine asks, coming over to the table and kneeling down. She rests her elbows and chin on the table and extends a finger to wave at the kitten, who watches it intently and occasionally bats at it with a paw.

“Cassandra sent it to me,” Kristen says. “I think.” The others look at her, confused and curious. Kristen sits forward in her chair and begins to gesture with her hands as she explains. “I woke up this morning and there was just this fucking cat in the chapel, right? So I went to the altar and asked them like, ‘Yo, Cass, what’s up with the cat? This yours?’ And Cass was like, ‘yeah Kris, that’s your familiar.’ And I’m like, ‘I don’t have a familiar,’ and they’re all, ‘you do now.’”

“So you just...have a cat now,” Adaine repeats slowly, making sure she’s got the story down.

“Yup.”

“So we’re keeping it?” Fig asks.

Adaine glances back up at Aelwyn, who still looks displeased. “Um, there’s a lot of people in this house. I don’t think it should be only up to us?”

“Perhaps you should consult the _werewolves_ first,” Aelwyn adds.

Kristen frowns. “Tracker’s still in Fallinel,” she says sadly. 

“And Ragh’s with her, so they don’t get a vote,” Fig chimes in.

“Okay. What about Jawbone?” Aelwyn prompts.

“And Sandra Lynn?” Adaine continues. “I mean, it is their house. I think it’s only polite to ask them first.”

“Better to ask forgiveness than permission?” Kristen shrugs.

“I don’t happen to agree,” Aelwyn responds flatly. Fig laughs. 

“Okay, well…” Kristen says, reaching over and grabbing the kitten off the table. She cradles it in her hands on her lap. “If we _really_ don’t want to keep her, we don’t have to.”

“Can’t you just tell Cassandra to…” Aelwyn waves a hand. She sounds a little bit softer. “Take it back?”

Kristen purses her lips and mulls it over, looking at the cat on her lap. “I dunno. I guess I could try...Cass made it seem like it was gonna be here whether I wanted it or not, though.” She scoops the kitten up in her hand again and holds it up to eye level again, looking at its bright, inquisitive face. “I could probably drop her off at the church and it could stay there. Like a temple guardian.”

“Keep the rats out,” Fig offers. She looks back at Aelwyn. “You sure you’re not cool with keeping it? It’s no big deal either way.”

Aelwyn frowns and looks pensive. After a beat, Kristen leans forward and holds the kitten out. “Would you like to…?” she offers gently.

Aelwyn stares at the cat, then darts her eyes up to study Kristen’s face. There’s a flash of something in her eyes, maybe fear or nerves, but also something else. After another beat, she takes and lets out a breath and hesitantly reaches forward. Kristen gently places the kitten into her hands and leans back, smiling.

“There you go. What’d’ya think?”

Aelwyn bites her lip and cradles the cat like it’s the most dangerous item in the world, and the most precious. She rubs her thumb along its dark, shimmery fur. “It’s quite soft,” she says. Kristen smiles.

“You like her?”

Aelwyn takes another breath and lets it out. She shrugs a little. It’s about as close to a ‘yes’ as any of them will get from her, and they’ll take it. 

“Hells yeah!” Fig says as Aelwyn leans forward to give the kitten back to Kristen. “Now she needs a name.”

“I was thinking ‘Cooler Kalina,’” Kristen says. Aelwyn makes a face and recoils sharply, prompting Kristen to laugh. 

_“Absolutely not,”_ Aelwyn insists firmly. “If you name it _that,_ I’m banishing it to whatever plane it _belongs_ on.”

“Calm down, it was just a joke,” Kristen giggles. She holds the cat up again and regards it thoughtfully. “Hm. Little Tracker?”

“No.”

“Midnight.”

“That’s so boring,” Fig comments. 

“Metallico?”

Adainen squints. “That’s kind of a strange name, don’t you think?”

Kristen hums in thought. “Anilak?” she finally suggests.

The cat lets out a little mew. Fig and Adaine coo and aw in response. 

“‘Anilak,’ that’s cool. I like that,” Fig says, nodding her approval. Adaine nods in agreement. 

“I think she likes it too. Don’t you, Anilak?” Kristen says. The kitten mews again, and the girls giggle again. “Sounds like a ‘yes’ to me. Welcome to Mordred Manor, Anliak!”

Adaine pulls a pink collar out of her jacket and clips it onto Anilak’s neck, complete with nametag and tiny bell. Kristen bends down and sets her on the floor, letting her scamper off into the next room. Sitting up, she sighs happily and glances back to Aelwyn.

“What’s that look for?” she asks to Aelwyn’s grumpy face.

“‘Anilak?’ _Really?”_ Aelwyn says. 

Kristen giggles. “Hey, no changing it now.”

**Author's Note:**

> rebloggable [here,](https://supercantaloupe.tumblr.com/post/645309460413333504/dimension20alphabet-prompt-11-kitten-title) prompt list [here.](https://dimension20alphabet.tumblr.com/post/643573819181776896/prompt-masterlist)
> 
> thank you for reading! <3


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